Early the next morning, Bai Xiaochun stepped out of his wooden hut and immediately noticed that the Winter Spirit Bamboo in his spirit field had grown to over half his height. Nodding with satisfaction, he left his courtyard and followed the mountain path toward the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion.
In the distance, the morning sun was rising, casting magnificent rays of light across the sky. The mist shimmered under the light, like golden koi swimming through it, creating a stunning scene. Bai Xiaochun moved with a light spring in his step and didn't stop once on his journey. Along the way, he encountered many outer sect disciples, but none that he recognized, which made him suddenly miss the senior brothers from the firewood house.
"I wonder how First Senior Brother is doing now\... and Hei Sanpang..." Bai Xiaochun sighed inwardly. After walking for more than half an hour, the sun was fully risen, and in the distance, he saw the ten massive stone monuments of the Ten Thousand Medicines Pavilion.
These ten stone monuments were the symbol of the pavilion, each radiating a faint blue light. They towered dozens of zhang high like ten giants standing in a row, exuding an awe-inspiring presence.
On each monument, clear rows of inscriptions could be seen, representing rankings from first to hundredth place. However, there were no names—only unique emblems. Each emblem represented a former outer sect prodigy who had once made a name for themselves at the pavilion and later became a renowned alchemist.
Every alchemist possessed a unique emblem, which would be engraved on the spirit pills they refined and would be passed down for generations. For alchemists, these emblems symbolized great honor and importance.
When Hou Yunfei had brought Bai Xiaochun here before, he had briefly explained all this. Now, arriving alone, Bai Xiaochun approached the monuments and began to examine the rankings.
The most eye-catching was the emblem at the top of the first monument—a *medicine bottle*!
Hou Yunfei had previously told him that this emblem belonged to… *Zhou Xinqi*!
This name was not unfamiliar to Bai Xiaochun. Back when he was still a servant, he had once heard Fatty Zhang, under the moonlight while munching on ginseng root, sigh and mention her name.
She came from an ordinary family, but years ago, an elder of the sect discovered her astonishing talent and brought her into the sect. Upon further testing, her talent shocked the entire Spirit Stream Sect.
She possessed a rare *Plant and Wood Spirit Vein, which made her cultivation several times faster than average and gave her astonishing talent in alchemy. She eventually joined **Fragrant Cloud Peak* and became the *sole disciple of Li Qinghou*, destined to become the next pillar of the sect's alchemical legacy!
According to sect rules, no matter how gifted someone was, they still had to begin as an outer sect disciple to temper themselves. Zhou Xinqi, like the other prodigies of the three southern peaks, was no exception. However, her cultivation resources were given at the level of an inner sect disciple.
Everyone in the sect knew she would soon become an inner sect disciple in both name and reality. On top of that, she was incomparably beautiful, which caused countless male disciples to fall for her.
Because of all these reasons, her fame on Fragrant Cloud Peak was unmatched. Even the inner sect disciples respected her. Some senior inner sect disciples even feared her.
Thinking of all this, Bai Xiaochun's curiosity toward Zhou Xinqi grew. He circled around the ten stone monuments, examining each one in turn and becoming more and more astonished.
"This Zhou Xinqi is too incredible! Out of the ten monuments, she's ranked first on eight of them. The other two probably just haven't been attempted by her yet!" Bai Xiaochun widened his eyes as he scanned the stone monuments.
By now, more and more disciples had gathered around the pavilion. Soon it was a sea of people. Bai Xiaochun withdrew his gaze and began looking for the place to exchange for the second volume of the Herbal Codex. He was surprised at how crowded it had become and didn't know why there were so many people today. He squeezed forward and suddenly heard waves of excited voices all around.
"Senior Sister Zhou is here!"
"Haha! The rumors were true—she was bound to come here these days. Waiting all this time wasn't for nothing!"
"Last time, she ranked first in Herbal Codex Vol. 5 and Spirit Beast Vol. 3. This time, she'll definitely challenge Spirit Beast Vol. 4!"
Excited murmurs surged like waves. The crowd squeezed inward, and Bai Xiaochun, caught in the middle, barely managed to squeeze out. He looked up and saw a streak of light shooting across the sky.
It was a *blue silk ribbon*, carrying a girl dressed in outer sect robes. Her long black hair flowed like satin in the wind. Her slender phoenix-like eyebrows, starlit eyes, flawless skin, and ethereal figure made her appear as a transcendent beauty.
She flew directly toward one of the ten stone monuments. As the outer sect disciples cheered wildly, she landed gracefully and, without glancing at anyone around, headed straight for one of the ten wooden huts beneath the monument and stepped inside.
Only then did Bai Xiaochun notice that each of the ten monuments had wooden huts built beneath them. Aside from the hut Zhou Xinqi entered, the others had people coming and going.
"At last, we saw Senior Sister Zhou again! This time she'll definitely claim her ninth monument!"
"Her goal is to be the first in all ten monuments—unprecedented! Only she has a chance to achieve that. Once she finishes Spirit Beast Volumes 4 and 5, she's bound to be first!" The crowd was abuzz with excitement.
Bai Xiaochun found a skinny outer sect disciple nearby. After shouting "Go Senior Sister Zhou!" a few times with him, he used the opportunity to ask for details. The disciple, in a good mood, explained everything thoroughly.
Bai Xiaochun confirmed that to obtain the second volume of the Herbal Codex, he needed to take an assessment inside one of the wooden huts beneath the monuments. Without delay, he squeezed toward the first monument. After some waiting, he saw someone exit a hut with a dejected look. Without hesitation, he entered.
Once inside, all the outside noise faded. The wooden hut was small, with a mat in the center and a smaller monument in front of it.
Following the instructions he received, Bai Xiaochun sat cross-legged on the mat, took out the jade slip for the first volume of the Herbal Codex, and pressed it against the small monument. The jade slip instantly merged into it, and the monument trembled, releasing a soft glow.
"That senior brother earlier said I need to draw my own alchemist emblem on the monument at this point," Bai Xiaochun thought to himself. He chuckled and drew a *tortoise*—albeit a crooked and clumsy one—because he liked tortoises. He thought it looked great despite its awkward appearance.
The tortoise emblem flashed and disappeared. Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath, focused his mind, and pressed his palm slowly onto the monument. As soon as he touched it—
*Boom!* His mind roared, his vision blurred, and suddenly, the wooden hut was gone. He now stood in a vast, illusory space.
Before he could look around, a burst of light appeared before him, and suddenly, countless *herbs* emerged, spreading in every direction like a massive sea.
But the herbs weren't whole—they were all *fragmented*, cut into over ten parts and thoroughly mixed together, forming a dense, chaotic mass. The sheer number made it impossible to count at a glance.
This was the terrifying trial that had struck fear into the hearts of countless outer sect disciples of Fragrant Cloud Peak for years. Many had failed here, and only those whose names appeared in the top 100 on the monument earned the admiration of all. Especially the top ten—their prestige was well earned.
"In the time it takes one stick of incense to burn, piece together complete spirit plants. The number of complete plants assembled will determine your assessment result. Begin."
A cold, emotionless voice echoed in the space.
"That's it?" Bai Xiaochun was stunned. Given how thoroughly he had studied the herbs in the jade slip, he could already see hundreds of combinations among the fragments.
Relieved at first, he then quickly grew nervous.
"No… If it's this simple, the number required to pass must be incredibly high." Nervous, he quickly raised his hand and began pointing rapidly. With each motion, a group of fragments flew together and assembled into complete herbs—two plants in the blink of an eye.
Without pause, he pointed again and again. Dozens of fragments flew into place, rapidly forming complete herbs. The number increased: over a hundred, then more.
He was fully focused, eyes glued to the fragments. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his hands moving faster and faster, desperate to pass the test. His eyes turned bloodshot from the strain.
100 plants, 200, 300, 500… 1000!
Sweat streamed down his face. Steam even rose from his head. His hands moved frantically, recognizing fragments at a glance and assembling them with terrifying precision. During his month of studying the jade slip, he had obsessed over every herb—so much that he even wished he could grind them into powder just to understand them better.
He lacked the resources, so he resorted to memorization to the extreme, identifying whole plants from the smallest fragments.
Had anyone outside seen this, they would have gasped in disbelief. While the trial itself was already feared, Bai Xiaochun's mastery over the herbs was even more terrifying.
Time passed—2000 plants, 3000…
Blood filled his eyes. His hands struggled to keep up with his thoughts. Without the support of his 4th level Qi Condensation cultivation, he would've collapsed already.
4000, 5000, 6000, 7000...
Eventually, when only a few fragments remained, everything flashed with light and vanished. His vision blurred again, and he was back inside the wooden hut.
On the stone monument, the jade slip he had inserted earlier reappeared—it was still the Herbal Codex Volume One.
"I was so close… just a bit more…" Bai Xiaochun muttered, feeling anxious. He picked up the jade slip and, shoulders slumped, stepped out of the hut—only to be met with a roar of cheering from outside.
Startled, he looked up—and saw *Zhou Xinqi* stepping out of her hut. Behind her, on the monument, her emblem—the medicine bottle—now sat at the top of the rankings.